Monthly Spending Summary (Jan.)

If you want to see exactly what I purchased, check the posts under My Deals for more details.

Some of you may remember that last month I asked the question, “So what do you think? Should I try going a month without buying anything but say milk and eggs and maybe $10 worth of other stuff if I need it?” Most of you that responded said that, no, you didn’t think I should try it. And I decided not too, at least not for now. Here’s why.

I kind of agreed with reader Monica’s comment when she said, “The base of your system is having a foundation of goods to build meals on, and if you dismantle it, I fear you’d be playing catch up for a long time.” That was kind of what I felt myself but thought maybe I was just being too cautious. I decided instead to just give myself the freedom to scale back some weeks on my shopping. For instance, if there is a week that I an unusually busy or just don’t feel in the mood to do the deals, I won’t. In the past I typically felt obligated to go no matter what. Now I’m going to try not to feel that pressure. Notice I said try. When you are a saver like me, sometimes it’s hard to remember that you actually don’t need to do every deal!

Another thing that some of you have asked is whether I plan to keep my same grocery budget dollar amount, especially with so many food prices rising. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Many food prices are increasing and this year we do have 2 children eating instead of just 1 eating and 1 breastfeeding. However, since we’ve been away the last 6 weeks and have had our food provided for us, it has enabled me to get ahead budget wise. I had thought we would just scale back our budget accordingly but my husband really felt like we should just keep it like it is to reflect rising food prices and also to make me feel more free about skipping some deals like I mentioned above. Plus I didn’t have to purchase any beef last year thanks to a huge beef purchase from friends the year before. But that meat is almost all gone so I’ll be needing to restock our freezer with beef.

So in some ways we are increasing our budget. I’m not sure how you’d figure out how much since the 6 weeks we were away we still had to supply personal care items and diapers, laundry soap etc. In other words, it’s not like we had no expenses. I’m guessing though it would work out to be about a $13/mo. increase.

I hope that all makes sense and please, as always, feel free to ask questions!

Okay, so about this month’s budget. Since we were gone 4 out of the 5 weeks, I didn’t spend very much and I plan to just roll the excess over to use in future months. I know I’ll use it up quickly when canning time comes and I purchase large amounts of fruit and veggies!

Monthly Grocery/Household Budget: $200Total Spent: $20.53

Total Saved with Coupons: $61.85
Total Saved with Sales: $33.87Total Saved: $95.72

Week 1: $12.55
Week 2: $6.19
Week 3: $0
Week 4: $1.79
Week 5: $0

Ending Monthly Balance: $179.47
This is the amount I am under budget for the month. I will roll this over to use in future months.

Wow, I feel so important being mentioned in your post. Actually, it’s timely that you mentioned this because I am in the process of what might be called the year of implementation of your system. I’ll need a good canning season this summer/fall to get us up and running before I’ll be really ready, but then I hope to get our budget around $300/mo. if all goes well. I’m going a little higher because of the increase in prices and because I’m a beginner and need a wider margin. Anyway, I’m so glad you came back and answered that question on what you planned to do. Also, I can really sympathize on withstanding the pressure to chase deals. SO many times there is something I can get for cheap/free but know I can’t get to the store before the end of the week and it irks me a little, but I need to let go of that.

by Lydia Beiler

On February 13, 2013 at 11:22 am

Monica- Ha! Enjoy your moment of fame.

I’d love to know how this year goes for you as far as implementing the stockpile idea. Yes, life sometimes is just too busy and there are other things more important than getting the best deals all the time!

I’ve been sitting here for an hour clicking around to all of your posts and loving them so much after clicking over from Pinterest! Just had to say hi since I’m in the same city as you – well, about 10 mins away:) Hi! And excited to add you to my google reader and follow along regularly now!

by Lydia Beiler

On February 18, 2013 at 7:49 am

Lillian- Glad you took the time time to say “hi”! Love “meeting” locals. Sometime I think it would be fun to have a get together with all my local readers. Blessings!

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About The Author

Lydia Beiler has always had a passion for saving money. Be it on groceries, clothing, or utilities, she's constantly on the lookout for the best deals and money-saving offers from popular retailers. As a faithful couponer and rebate user, she's been able to trim an astounding amount of money off of her family's monthly budgets.Read Full Bio